Combination coupling and governor for producing axial movement



C. 'HOLLERI COMBINATION COUPLING A GOVERNOR FOR PRODUCING AXIALMOVEMENTS Flled March 1, 1946 Feb. 5, 1952 3 vwvwbw CHARLES HOL LER/ THPatented Feb. 5, 1952 COMBINATION COUPLING AND GOVERNOR FOR PRODUCINGAXIAL MOVEMENT Charles Hollerith, Jackson, Mich., assignor to Lake StateProducts, Inc., Jackson, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application March 1, 1946, Serial N0. 651,276'

1 Claim. (01. 264-18) The present invention relates to improvements in acombination flexible coupling and governor for producing relative axialmovement between two parts.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which maybe inserted between rotated driven and driving parts with all thedesirable characteristics of a flexible coupling and at the same timeprovide relative axial movement between the driving and driven partsupon predetermined rotational speeds.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination flexiblecoupling and governor in the form of a section of flexible hosehavingintermediate portions defined by axial slits.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flexible coupling andgovernor for producing relative axial movement between the driving anddriven parts, in which axially extending flexible strips carry weightsintermediate to their ends.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a combinationcoupling and governor in the form of a section of rubber hose havingsufi'lcient body and resiliency to continuously act to retain acylindrical form and having an intermediate portion weighted and definedby longitudinal slits to permit radial displacement under predeterminedcentrifugal forces.

These and other objects residing in the combination, construction andarrangement of parts will be more fully disclosed and treated in thefollowing specification and the appended claim.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a section of cylindrical hose fabricatedaccording to the principles of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line II--II of Fig. 1, and tFig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the device of Fig. 1assembled between driven and driving parts, the section being taken online IIIIII of Fig. 2'.

The flexible coupling and governor member I preferably takes the form ofa short section of standard type hose used in hydraulics for conductingfluids under relatively high pressure. It may be of rubber construction,either natural or synthetic, with fabric or other type of conventionalreinforcement. For convenience in attaching the coupling betweensuitable driven and driving parts, the upper and lower portions I2 andI4 are preferably retained in complete cylindrical form with theintermediate portion of the hose section being divided by spacedlongitudinal slits I6 between which are defined arcuate strips I8extending between the upper and lower portions I2 and I l. Connected tothe arcuate strips I8, either on one or both sides, are suitable weights20 which are shown as secured in position by rivets 22.

In Fig. 3, the coupling IE) is shown connected between the drive part 24and the driven part 26 through suitable clamps 28 to secure the upperand lower portions I2 and I4 to the cylindrical shoulders 35. Tofacilitate the connection, the shoulders 38 may be roughened in themanner indicated. It is also to be noted in Fig. 3 that the insideweight 20 has arcuate upper and lower ends 32 so as to conform morereadily to the normal shape the arcuate strips I8 take under centrifugalaction. In the dotted outline is indicated the manner in which thestrips I8 are thrown radially outwardly by centrifugal forces, causingone or both of the parts 24 and 26 to move into the dotted-line positionindicated.

It will be understood that the coupling Ill because of its resilientcharacteristics will have an inherent tendency to assume the cylindricalshape shown in full line in Fig. 3. It is only when the centrifugalforces due to rotation overcome this inherent tendency to retain itsoriginal form do the strips I8 have radial movement toward the dottedline position shown in Fig. 3. As the rate of rotation is reduced, thestrips I8 will be drawn inwardly toward the full-line position shown inFig. 3 with the result that the inherent resilient characteristics ofthe combination coupling and governor device Ill may be employed toposition the driving part 24 and the driven part 26 in the full-lineposition shown in Fig. 3, without the employment of any auxiliaryresilient means against which the centrifugal action of the strips I8upon rotation would be required to act.

It should be apparent from the foregoing description that I haveprovided a simple and inexpensive coupling and governor performingsatisfactorily as a flexible drive and at the same time the action ofrotational forces will exert endwise forces upon parts between which thecoupling I0 may be connected.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in some casesthe weights 20 could be omitted and the strips I8 will function toprovide all of the centrifugal action required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tocover by Letters Patent is:

A combination flexible drive coupling and governor designed to beattached between drivin and driven members for rotation about itslongitudinal axis, comprising a tubular section of flexible resilientmaterial but of a stiffness suflicient to render the tubular sectionself-supporting to form a coupling connection, said tubular sectionhaving an intermediate portion with axial slots therein atcircumferentially spaced intervals defining arcuate strip portionsadapted to yield under the influence of centrifugal forces upon rotationabout its longitudinal axis to permit the intermediate portion of thetubular section to V cylindrical end portions integral with said arouatestrip portions.

CHARLES H QL LERI'l H.

4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 85,763 Pracy Jan. 12, 1869695,464 Lombard Mar. 18, 1902 1,233,276 Kerr July 10, 1917 1,886,546Hoffman Nov. 8, 1932 2,036,114 Bembry Mar. 31, 1936 Bedford July 19,1938

